The present invention relates to a latch for securing a door in a closed position. More particularly, the present invention relates to a latch for securing a kennel door, the latch having a knob movable between an extended position and a storage position.
A wide variety of kennels have been used to transport animals for numerous years. These kennels generally include a housing unit, a door, and a latch for securing the door in the closed position. Various latches have been devised to secure kennel doors; however, most are difficult to operate and require awkward manipulation. Manipulation is further compounded in many designs because extremely small handles or knobs exist; therefore, pet owners are unable to obtain sufficient leverage to lock or unlock the door.
In addition, many of the prior latch designs include metal pins or other sharp protrusions extending outward from the latch. These pins and protrusions can often hook onto a pet""s collar or an owners clothing and can also scratch the owner.
Finally, most kennels are bulky and require a large area of space when being are stored or shipped. As a result, present kennel designs use detachable components, including an upper hull and a lower hull. The upper and lower hulls can be connected to form an interior area to contain a pet or the hulls can be disconnected and configured in a nested position to reduce storage space. While in the nested position, the door and latch assembly are detached from the kennel and the lower hull is inverted so as to be nested inside the upper hull. A storage area is created between the nested hulls and is capable of storing the door and latch assembly. However, current latch configurations are too large to be placed inside the storage area. As a result, the door and latch assembly will oftentimes become misplaced since the door cannot be stored with the nested hulls.
There is a need for a latch that does not require awkward manipulation, a large force to operate and having a low profile so that a door can be stored between the kennel hull portions when the hulls are nested together.
The present invention relates to a latch for a door. The latch is movable between an open position and a closed position such that when the latch is in the closed position, the door is locked, and when the latch is in the open position, the door is unlocked and can freely rotate.
The latch preferably includes a base plate adapted to be mounted to the door and a housing secured to the base plate. A rotating member or bolt actuator is rotatably disposed between the base plate and the housing. At least one bolt is coupled to the rotating member and is slidable between a retracted position, where the door is unlocked, and an extended position, where the door is locked.
A knob is pivotally mounted to the rotating member and extends through the housing. The knob is movable between a folded position and an extended position. When the knob is in the extended position, the knob is positioned generally perpendicular to the housing so that the user can easily reciprocate the rotating member to move the bolt between the bolt retracted position and the bolt extended position without awkward manipulation. To place the knob in the folded position, the knob is pivoted so that the knob is recessed inside a housing recessed area when the rotating member is placed in the bolt extended position. The latch folds to eliminate any protrusions extending from the housing, is compact and prevents the bolt from moving between the retracted and open positions.